Factsheet: Climate change and diseases of tree foliage

The six main foliar pathogens already causing significant damage to conifers and broadleaved tree species in the UK are described along with the likely impact of climate change on their spread and severity.

Factsheet: Climate change and ecosystem services

Climate change will have wide-ranging effects on ecosystem services

Factsheet: Climate change and human behaviours

There is increasing interest in designing policy interventions to sustain positive individual or societal behaviours and to encourage behaviour change which tackles environmental issues including climate change.

Ecological implications of oak decline in Great Britain

This Research Note describes the ecological value of Great Britain’s native oaks, as reflected in the biodiversity supported by the trees and ecosystem functions the trees perform.

Providing the evidence base to diversify Britain’s forests

Early results of species and provenance trials established in 2012.

Factsheet: Climate change and biodiversity

More biodiverse woodlands are better able to resist or adapt to threats, such as climate change. This enhanced resilience supports the continuity of woodlands and the ecosystem services they provide. Biodiversity is the variation at different levels of biological organisation - the genes within a species; the species within a community; and the diversity between communities and ecosystems.

Factsheet: Peatlands, forestry and climate change

This factsheet explains how forestry affects the carbon stored in peat and the role forest-to-bog restoration can play in reducing carbon emissions.

Factsheet: Climate change and forests

How do woodlands and forests affect the climate?

Factsheet: Climate change, flooding and forests

Many parts of the UK are periodically affected by flooding and the frequency of floods is expected to increase due to climate change. Tree planting and forest management can alter flood flows, although the extent of this depends on many factors. Here we describe the latest understanding of how forestry can help.

Species diversification – which species should we use?

This paper stresses that future use of ‘alternative’ species for diversification should be contingent on rigorous biological risk assessment, results from forestry scale trials, and the establishment of sustainable British seed sources.

ESCom 2020 workshop: Scotland’s National Ecological Network – progress and practicalities

Summary of a workshop for researchers, policymakers and practitioners to discuss the progress and practicalities of developing a National Ecological Network in Scotland. Embedded in this approach to more sustainable land use is the need to take stock of progress towards regional and national ecological networks to increase resilience into the future.

Forest damage by deer depends on cross‐scale interactions between climate, deer density and landscape structure

This journal paper investigates the factors that drive deer damage to woodlands using the National Forest Inventory sample square data. We found that the likelihood of damage to trees depends on cross-scale interactions between climate, deer density and landscape structure. The complex interactive effects uncovered are difficult to interpret. We therefore provide an interactive Deer Damage Tool for practitioners to visualize how afforestation is likely to influence the probability of deer damage in different forests and regions across Britain.